Skip to content

Lost Mozart Music Found

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart started writing music when he was a child. Now, one of those pieces has been found.

A woman wearing protective gloves holds up two sheets of handwritten music.

© Sebastian Willnow/picture alliance—Getty Images

An employee of the Leipzig Municipal Libraries shows part of the Mozart piece that was recently discovered in the library’s collection.

What does music sound like when it’s written by a kid? If that kid is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, it sounds pretty good! A piece of music Mozart probably wrote in his early teens was recently rediscovered—and it has already been performed.

Mozart is known as a prodigy—someone who shows extraordinary talent at a young age. Born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756, Mozart learned about music from his father, a violin player. The young Mozart wrote his first piece of music when he was 5 years old. He went on to write more than 600 pieces of music during his lifetime and is considered one of the greatest composers in history. Much of Mozart’s early work has been lost, but the recently discovered music was saved. It was found in a library in Germany.

The 12-minute piece of music, called Serenade in C, is labeled “Wolfgang Mozart.” Since it’s not in Mozart’s handwriting, experts believe it’s a copy of the original. Serenade in C was written sometime in the mid to late 1760s. Experts say the music has the same style as other music Mozart composed when he was between 10 and 13 years old. Mozart’s writing style changed as he got older.

Serenade in C has already been performed at least three times, and the crowds were large and enthusiastic. More than 200 years after his death, Mozart is still extremely popular.

The video features part of Serenade in C.

Martin Türke/Musikschule Leipzig “Johann Sebastian Bach”

Fun Fact Icon

Fun Fact

Mozart had a pet starling (a kind of bird). According to some stories, Mozart’s starling could sing one of his compositions!

A starling and a speech bubble with musical notes on a staff instead of words.

© David Havel/Dreamstime.com, Opus33; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

From the Stage to the Page

A headshot of Kate McKinnon and the cover of The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science.

Jackie Abbott, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Photo composite Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Actor and comedian Kate McKinnon is best known for Saturday Night Live and the movie Barbie. Now, she’s written her first book!

In The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science, three sisters have trouble fitting in with the rules and expectations of the town where they live. After they get kicked out of school, the sisters are invited to attend another school. This one is run by a scientist named Millicent Quibb, who’s known for pickling brains. That’s where the adventure begins.

McKinnon, who proudly calls herself a weirdo, says the book is a celebration of people who are different.

“The theme of this story is: the thing that everyone is telling you is too weird or too much or too impossible or too silly—that is the thing that will save you and will help heal the world,” McKinnon told Publishers Weekly. “The world doesn’t need you to be something you’re not. The world needs you to be exactly what you are.”

Music Master

Mozart as a DJ with a turntable.

© Photos.com/Getty Images Plus, © freestyle_images/stock.adobe.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Mozart’s music was modern for its time. If he lived today, maybe he’d be a DJ!

Many people have called Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart a genius. His compositions were complicated, but they could also be as catchy as modern pop music. 

You can read more about Mozart at Britannica!

Word of the Day Icon

Word of the Day

melodious

Part of speech:

adjective

Definition:

: having a pleasing melody

Definitions provided by
Merriam-Webster Logo
Game Icon

Play

Word Search

Can you find all the musical words?

O
O
O
O
O
Constructed by Amy Birnbaum using PuzzleMe's wordsearch generator

In Case You Missed It

Some of the world’s most hilarious animals are finalists in the 2024 Comedy Wildlife Awards.
October 10, 2024
Udoh Ebaide Joy is the first Black African woman to ride a motorcycle solo from East Africa to West Africa.
October 7, 2024
In the future, this humanoid robot could be helpful around the house.
October 3, 2024
When a visitor dropped a bag of Cheetos on the floor of a cave, big problems emerged.
September 30, 2024